We’ll be at the Hereford Farm Market Saturday, September 24th, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. This week’s batch is gingerbread-spiced pear drizzle. It is pure pear awesomeness — little bits of cooked pears in a cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice syrup offered in tiny 4 oz jars. Perfect for drizzling on ice cream, yogurt, pancakes, French toast… or add it to a cheese board… or use it in a grown-up grilled cheese with baguette and brie.
I also tried to make a fig and pear jam that sounded absolutely delicious. It was a disaster. It’s the second time I’ve had bad luck trying to make a fig jam. The first time was with dried figs, these were fresh. Maybe third time’s the charm? We’ll see… It will be a while before I try again. Why am I telling you about my epic fails? Because (1) everyone makes mistakes; and (2) sometimes epic fails make for good stories. The fig fails were kind of boring, but click here if you want to read about a cherry fail and how I almost got arrested for bootlegging. 😉
Fall Biking
I’m still chasing my goal of 1,000 miles this season. Current mileage? 760 miles. I do a lot of riding on the NCR and Heritage Rail Trails, but I’ve also participated in a few organized rides this season. Last Sunday, I did the Yellow Breeches Ramble and the Kings Gap Climb as part of Harrisburg’s Bicycle Club’s Three Creek Century Ride. It was terrific! Beautiful routes, friendly SAG support (thankfully not needed, but their presence was appreciated), and an incredibly brutal 4-mile uphill slog (at least I thought it was brutal — hahaha — more experienced riders were blowing past me on the regular) to the Kings Gap Environmental Educational Center. But sooooo worth it! Gorgeous views and an incredible ride back down!!
Monarch sightings
I’ve spotted six so far this season (not a lot, frankly), most while biking, but one in our garden earlier this evening. Craig and I want to plant milkweed next year and truly give them a place of R&R in our yard. How about you? Any monarch sightings this year?
We’ll be at the Hereford Farm Market, 17004 York Road, in Parkton, Maryland, from 9:00 a.m. until noon this Saturday. Look for us at the “Hats & Honey” table beside The Contented Rooster.
First things first… we’ll be at Hereford Farm Market tomorrow with a new jam flavor, Black Raspberry! I bought the berries from Krista at Foggy Bottom Farm in White Hall and the jam turned out perfect. It’s a small batch, so stop by our table early if you want a jar. If black raspberry is not your thing, I still have blueberry, berry ale, and honey-sweetened strawberry jams + mimosa jelly and smoky bbq applesauce. Unopened, the jars are shelf-stable for up to a year, so stock up!
Craig and I try to keep our yard neat and tidy, but sometimes there are areas that get neglected. When I find out that some small creature made a home in some wild part of our yard, it makes me feel better – like my failure to weed or rake leaves was intentional. Below is a nest we found in our shed’s old flower box. Not sure what kind of bird is making her home here. She’s raising chicks, which is why we didn’t approach the nest again. Godspeed, little ones!
One of my favorite things to do in the summer is ride my bike. We have so many awesome rail trails in Maryland, especially the Torrey C. Brown Trail (a.k.a. the “NCR”). Because I live near it, I’ve biked it (and PA’s Heritage Trail) many, many times. I still love it, but was looking for a way to add interest to my rides, so I joined the Baltimore Bike Club. Last weekend, I rode with them down around North Point State Park and Fort Howard. The Bay is just as gorgeous as north Baltimore County, and it was neat riding in a different part of the county than I usually do.
North Point State Park and Fort HowardLooking across the Bay toward Rock HallBack on the NCR/Heritage Trail
The Bee Report
Boudica: Boudica I swarmed in the spring and we thought the remaining hive might not make it. But they did! Boudica II is doing a great job! No honey from this hive this year though because these survivors will need all their honey for winter.
Elizabeth II: Solid hive. Two supers. We might be able to harvest from this hive…
Cleopatra: Kinda meh… maybe we’ll get some honey from this hive…?
Pandora: Also suffered some early losses, possibly a swarm, but now it’s really strong. Fingers crossed, there’s potential here for a good harvest, but we’ll have to see…
Æthelflæd, the Undead: We thought she was dead, but She. Is. Alive!!!! She managed to somehow work her way back to health (along with her hive, who arrived sickly in the spring). That’s why we gave her the “Undead” epithet… because she refused to die. Long live Æthelflæd! 🙂
Buffy, the Varroa Mite Slayer: It’s Crazy Town in this hive! Had two queens for a while. How is that possible?! Because Buffy was reigning beneath a “queen excluder” and somehow one of her daughters decided to establish her own kingdom on top of the queen excluder. This was nuts! Never happened to any of our hives before. Craig took the second queen (Buffy’s daughter) to Oak Spring Farm, where she can establish her own hive in a healthier way.
Elphaba: this was our newest hive this spring — a captured swarm. We crowd-sourced the name, hahaha. ELPHABA IS BAD ASS!!! Boudica was our strongest queen this spring, but Elphaba has overtaken Boudica as the Queen of Queens. Her hive is always bustling and bearding. There are so many bees in it, it’s practically bursting. We’re wondering if she will swarm again, but hoping not.
Tempest: Killer! She is awesome and amazing!! She is nearly as badass as Elphaba. But there can only be one!!! So, currently, the Queen of Queens title stays with Elphaba. But who knows what will happen during the rest of the season?!
Gaia: Died. RIP Gaia. Craig took some queen cells from Tempest and gave them to Gaia’s hive. Hopefully, they will use them to requeen their hive. If so, Rocking Awesome Tempest and her daughter will be reigning side by side at Lisa’s.
The Secret Decoder Ring
Wondering about some of the terms I used to describe what was happening in the hives? Here’s the scoop:
Swarm: this happens when a hive reproduces itself. The queen takes the oldest bees and a lot of the honey and leaves. It can be sad but it’s also the sign of a healthy hive. Beekeepers love catching swarms!
Super: Special-sized box that is part of the hive “palace” that is used by the beekeeper to extract honey. Think of it as a pantry. You don’t live in your pantry, but you store your food there. When beekeepers harvest honey, they are basically raiding the bees’ pantry.
Varroa Mites: A terrible scourge. Vampires to bees. Invasive pests.
Queen excluder: A part of the hive palace that keeps the queen from laying eggs in the honey. (You wouldn’t want your baby nursery in your pantry, right? Well, sometimes queens get confused — they are overworked after all — so they need help knowing which rooms in their palace should be used for what.)
Bearding: when the bees come out of the hive in very hot weather. They do this when the hive is crowded and hot. They often turn their wings so that their collective wing gusts cool the hive.
Oak Spring Farm: a fantastic CSA Farm up here owned and operated by Lisa Duff.
We’ll be at the Hereford Farm Market, 17004 York Road, in Parkton, Maryland, from 9:00 a.m. until noon tomorrow. Look for us at the “Hats & Honey” table beside The Contented Rooster.
The signs are everywhere — strawberry shortcake at the grocery store, plentiful containers of ripe berries at the farm market, and Pick Your Own open for business at nearby orchards.
Two of this week’s jam flavors feature hand-picked strawberries from Shaw’s. I drove out there earlier this week for berries and picked them myself right from the field. The orchards were beautiful and this year’s strawberry crop is terrific. I managed to pick about five and a half pounds in the time I had. I filled in the rest of the strawberries I needed for this week’s jam batches with berries from Oak Spring Farm. If you haven’t yet bought local berries, what are you waiting for??
Look for me tomorrow at the “Hats & Honey” table at the Hereford Farm Market!
Every Saturday from May until November, we’ll be at the Hereford Farm Market from 9:00 a.m. until noon. We share a table with Mandi and Rob (Rosie Posie Design Co). Mandi sells hand-knitted accessories, mug rugs (beautiful one-of-a-kind coffee coasters), and other fiber artisan offerings.
Look for us at the “Hats & Honey” table near Contented Rooster’s pop-up pastry shop.
Why “Hats & Honey” when we have neither hats nor honey to sell?? Possibly because I’m the worst marketer EVER. Possibly because I’m ignoring everything anyone has ever said about branding best practices. But, in truth, it’s because people at the market know us as the “Hats & Honey” table and we have a sentimental attachment to our table banner. (We will have both hats & honey in the fall!!)
While Craig and I wait for our little bees to finish making honey, we’re selling other fun bee- and honey-themed products, as well as homemade jam. Here’s what’s available from Windtree Bee this month:
HONEY CINNAMON ALMOND GRANOLA
Limited quantities! I’ll probably make this once or twice a month, just to take a break from jam batches, which are much more labor intense. These are 16 oz jars, but dry weight is about 2 cups. Except for the almonds, salt, and honey, all the ingredients are organic. Smelled awesome while baking. Like a fresh batch of cookies!! 🙂
HONEYCOMB SUNCATCHERS
St. Gobnait, Patron Saint of Bees and Beekeepers
My sister-in-law’s mom, Mary Nolan, is a glazier. She has a basement studio where she makes bespoke stained glass. This spring, she made six beautifully handcrafted bee and honeycomb suncatchers. The one above is my favorite.
BEE BALM AND GARDNER’S SOAP
Made from our beeswax!
My next-door neighbor, Tammy Tracey, makes homemade soaps, body scrubs, and beeswax salves. We gave her a bucket of beeswax from our hives and she used it to make a lavender-scented hand cream and a rich, dense nighttime balm, which is great for winter eczema. She also makes a strong gardener’s soap with pumice and tea tree oil — useful after possible poison ivy encounters!
HOMEMADE JAM
Small batches
Unique flavors
Often made with organic and/or local ingredients
I’ve had a lot of fun coming up with new flavors each week. For Preakness Saturday, I made a batch inspired by the horses. “Midnight Bourbon” Maple Apple Butter sold out almost immediately. “Risk Taking” is My Jam (a caramel apple coffee jam) followed soon after. I have one — one!! — jar of “Keepmeinmind” for Grilling left. It’s a smoky-spicy savory apple-based jam that is a terrific compliment to grilled pork or chicken.
I also have a few carrot cake and cinnamon pear jams and a half-dozen mixed berry jams left. Mixed berry (raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, and blueberry) is a classic summer jam, so I made a double batch last week. Check back each week for new flavors!
Flower Update:
Everything is in the ground! Mostly. I held some of my sunflower seeds back. I’ve never been successful at succession planting, but it’s always fun to try. Our old garden fence was falling down, so Craig built a new one. Our spruced up garden with all the newly planted little rows of seedlings must have looked very enticing to one of the neighborhood’s wild rabbits. He (or she) chomped off the tops of several seedlings. I was just about to go all Mr. McGregor when I caught my younger daughter carrying a sack of carrots out to the garden in the hope that she could coax the rabbit out. Hmm… Stay tuned…
Bee & Honey Update:
Thank you to everyone who has stopped by our table to ask about the bees. The hives look good! Well, most of them. One hive probably has a laying worker, but we’ll probably let nature run its course and see what’s what with that hive in a month. In the meantime, Craig took on some additional beekeeping work looking out for another hive on a nearby farm. And we met some other local beekeepers who sell nucs only a few miles from us, which is great! We have neither the interest nor the acreage to try to sell nucs, so it’s nice to find a convenient source for Hereford-hardy bees!
Hope everyone is enjoying the cicadas and the start of summer! See you at the market!
We lost all our hives over the winter. Total and complete bummer, but unfortunately not an uncommon experience. Craig’s beekeeping buddies lost most of their hives too. Everyone ordered new nucs this year from Central Maryland Beekeepers Association. Because the starter hives come from Florida, everyone’s been wondering how delivery and distribution would be handled this year due to COVID-19. CMBA made several changes to the way the pick-ups are normally handled to keep things safe and compliant with current state orders. If everything goes as planned, our new little bee buddies will be installed this weekend.
Swarm Catcher
April and May are great months for beekeepers to catch natural honeybee swarms. (For more info on what a swarm is, what to do if you see one, and who to call, check out CMBA’s site. Craig’s listed as a beekeeper to call for the 21120 area.)
What’s so great about a honeybee swarm?
Besides being just a neat nature-y thing, anecdotal evidence suggests naturally occurring bee swarms might be better adapted to our backyard than out-of-state nucs. (Two beekeeping buddies caught swarms last year. Post-winter, those hives are still alive.) If we manage to catch a swarm, and if it survives winter 2020, we want to split it into two Maryland-hearty hives next spring. There’s a lot of hoping, wishing, and praying to our plan, but that’s beekeeping.
First things first – catch a swarm. Here’s our swarm catcher. We’re going to hang it in one of our evergreens.
NEW THIS YEAR
Honeycomb
We bought some special frames, so that we could offer squares of honeycomb. If you’ve never had it, you will love it. It can be eaten plain, but is also great with tea and toast, figs and Brie, and – according to food writer Hattie Ellis – buttermilk panna cotta.
Jams and Jellies
For some time now, I’ve been wanting to add a new product to our Hereford Farm Market table, which would extend our selling season and diversify our offerings. Homemade jams and jellies seem like a perfect companion for home-harvested honey and cottage bouquets. To ensure that my methods were safe and my recipes sound, I enrolled in a water-bath canning course down at Baltimore Chef Shop, Hampden’s teaching kitchen, this past January. I hope to offer small batches, depending on what’s in season. Ideally, I’ll be using fruit from the farm market and/or local orchards.
Flowers
Before I could decide if I even wanted to do a soil test this year, UMass sent an email saying the lab was closed due to COVID-19. So I ordered some pH test strips online and bought some basic amendments based on last year’s lab test. Hopefully, all will be well. Seeds that need to be started inside have been planted and are happily growing beneath lights in my basement. (For a list of the types of flowers I’m growing this year, check out my flowers page.) In the meantime, I’m enjoying spring blooms.
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Farm Market
The Hereford Farm Market has a new website. Check out the other vendors and stay tuned for more info. As far as I know, it will still open, although there will likely be new rules for shopping and gathering. Get up-to-date info on the market via Facebook and/or Instagram.
State Parks
Governor Hogan’s stay-at-home order allows for limited hiking and biking in some state park areas. I imagine this is because exercising outside is a double benefit to people’s health. One of our favorite ways to cope with the current crisis is to take our dog, Tugg, for hikes and a swim in the Gunpowder River. We are very lucky to have such beautiful state parks so close to where we live! For DNR’s FAQs about the stay-at-home order, click here. For the Maryland Park Service’s list of state parks that are open or closed, click here.
Tugg retrieving his bumper from the Gunpowder Falls
Puppy Tugg with his bumper
Books and Movies
These are on my to-read and to-watch lists. Some are new releases, others are older.
HONEYLAND
Virtual Tours
Lots of virtual tours these days! Here are five of my favorites:
Spent Labor Day weekend in Cumberland, biking sections of the C&O Canal Tow Path and the Great Allegheny Passage. It was awesome! Below are pics and a few details about my trip, including restaurant, lodging, and bike rental recommendations.
Midway Between Pittsburgh and D.C.
Cumberland’s heyday was pre-WWII, but the city is working to reinvent itself as a regional tourist destination. Much of its history and appeal center on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Great Allegheny Passage.
The Canal
Construction began Independence Day 1828, but the entire DC-to-Cumberland route wasn’t finished until 1850. By then, railroads had taken over. The canal’s barges, which were pulled by mules over 184 mountainous miles and through 74 locks, couldn’t compete. Ingenious in design, industrious in its making, but nearly obsolete from the start, the canal was used to ship mostly coal and timber for 100 years or so. In the 1970s, it was made into a National Park.
When you bike the trail today, you bike on the path the mules used while pulling the barges. The locks are still there, in various states of disrepair. Many are full of still water, some of it black and malignant looking. But others are full of duck weed and turtles. Some are dry. Some old gates are still in place, as well as lock houses and plenty of signs explaining the history of the canal, park, and trail.
The GAP
The Great Allegheny Passage is a 150 mile rail trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland. We started just north of the Eastern Continental Divide. It was raining, so it was fun to think about the fact that rain drops on one side were falling into the Gulf of Mexico watershed while raindrops on the other were falling into our beloved Chesapeake Bay watershed. Because the divide is the highest point of the trail, it was literally all downhill from there. The easiest, fastest, most beautiful miles I’ve ever biked.
There were three tunnels, which were neat. I’ve biked the NCR’s Howard Tunnel a few times, but these were longer and darker. Two had lights, although some of them were out. Still, no need for a headlamp or phone flashlight. We crossed the Mason-Dixon line, chuckling a bit about how much fanfare the trail gives this border crossing. (We live about 8 miles from it farther east and cross the line multiple times a day, nearly every day.)
Bone Cave, a few miles west of Cumberland, was creepy. I’m used to using “medieval” as an adjective for “old” or “ancient.” This cave made medieval seem as modern as an iMac. It was discovered in the early 1900s when the railroad was being built. Fossils and bones from 200,000 years ago have been found inside, including cave bears and saber-toothed cats. Rock fall and a fence blocks the entrance… but I had no intention of venturing in!
The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad is still in operation. You can ride from Cumberland to Frostburg and back — or take your bike on the train and ride the GAP back. We stopped to watch the train turn around on the turntable and left before it did, so we were able to lay pennies on the track to take home as souvenirs.
Where to Stay, Eat, and Drink; Who to Rent Bikes From
We stayed at the Inn on Decatur Street. The owner offers a nice package for bikers, which she calls the “Tale of Two Trails.” You get two nights, two hot breakfasts, packed lunch for the trail, and van support for two days of riding. Riders usually do a portion of the C&O Canal one day and the GAP the next.
(When I first booked the trip, I mistakenly told Craig the package was called “A Taste of Two Trails” and he thought there would be rest stops with wine and beer tastings. Ha! Not exactly…)
We went with another couple and had dinner Saturday night at Ristorante Ottaviani, which was lovely and charming. We ate in their outdoor patio area, which is an alley strung with white lights. They had live music, great food and wine, and a server who’s thinking about getting into beekeeping. It was fun chatting with her!
My friends rented bikes from the same people who provided our van support, the Cumberland Trail Connection. The shop also happens to have beer brewing experts on staff. Some of them work for Cumberland’s new craft beer place, Dig Deep Brewery, which is renovating the first floor of the historic Footer’s Dye Works Building. We swung by to see the space and taste a sample. Can’t wait to go back. Beer and biking – what could be better? 😉
Cumberland: Recommended for…
Bikers!
Outdoor enthusiasts
Fans of small mountain towns
Anyone interested in American history
Cat lovers! (Cats per capita, Cumberland rivals Rome and Istanbul!)
For summer 2019, Jill’s goal was to bike 750 miles. During her Cumberland weekend, she biked nearly 50 miles, allowing her to blow past her goal and hit 772+ for the season. She mostly rides rail trails and has given talks at her local library and senior center on the history of Maryland’s Northern Central Railroad, its towns, and rail trail. One day, she’d love to bike from Pittsburgh to D.C.
We bought some special frames, so that we could offer squares of honeycomb. If you’ve never had it, you will love it. It can be eaten plain, but is also great with tea and toast, figs and Brie, and – according to food writer 
Farm Market
Windtree Bee 